Natural Talent
by vanitybang
Summary: Nami figures Luffy is just as sloppy in bed as he is oblivious, but she soon realizes she might've underestimated her captain's keen instincts. LuffyxNami post-timeskip smut.


It was a bamboo hut and it was seriously tiny. When spreading her arms to the full length standing in the middle of it, she could almost touch the walls with her fingers. There was no bed – to be fair, the entirety of its interior appeared to be serving as one. No floor, just soft, royal blue fabric beneath her, heavily stuffed to provide this kind of comfort. It was circular in shape and she felt a little like a spoiled cat in it.

As far as bedroom design went, Nami was having a hard time adjusting to it. It wasn't going to bother her for very long, though, she mused. When you sail the seas everyday you get used to sleeping in pretty unconventional places. That was perhaps one of the best sleeping conditions she'd ever been offered during their voyages, yet she couldn't help feeling uneasy. There was no denying how nice the decoration and atmosphere was, however – she was enjoying just watching rays of setting sun peeking into one of the little windows, filling the hut with pleasantly dim light. It was relaxing, and nice, but... she was bored.

Nami and the rest of the crew had arrived on this island earlier that day. The natives treated them suspiciously well – offered them their huts to sleep in, gave full permission to roam around the island and fed them generously, which, of course, had their captain's trust sold. Initially, Nami thought generosity like that smelled fishy, but she figured the inhabitants of this island just didn't want any trouble with pirates – especially as infamous as the Straw Hat crew – and just settled on licking their visitors' boots for their own good. The woods seemed to be wide and full of animals, so she didn't worry that they'd eaten the food they needed to live on, even with someone as gluttonous as Luffy taking part in the feast.

She sat up, reaching for the shoes she'd tossed aside earlier. As she buckled her stillettos, she listened to the sound of the nearby river flowing by. A long walk before sleeping would definitely get her energy wasted, so she could rest peacefully that night.

The other huts were all located relatively near to each other, although in a distance that allowed for some privacy. Hers was one of the nearest to the sea, so she walked up the road - the rocky beach didn't look tempting, especially with her high heels on, and she decided to explore some of the village located deeper in the island.

It was slowly getting dark. Sporting a yellow tank top and a denim mini skirt, she felt pleasantly cool wind on her bare shoulders and legs.

The quietness and solitude of the moment made her a little lost in thought, as she passed by another hut along the road. Not thinking much, she glanced inside its window, fully expecting the curtains to be shut.

She did a double take when she saw Luffy lying inside, seemingly far off in the land of Morpheus, eyes closed and sprawled on the hut's equivalent of a bed. Also, completely naked.

"That idiot...!", Nami thought frantically, quickly drawing her gaze away and leaning on the wall, covering her face with her right hand. Her eyes were still widened and she felt unwanted warmth crawl onto her cheeks, as well as a certain spot in her lower stomach.

It wasn't like she had never seen him naked up until this point. Quite the opposite – in fact, they've had sex a few times before, it just wasn't a regular occurence, as they were both usually too occupied with other things to allow for that. And more importantly, Nami hadn't in her most ridiculous dreams been expecting to see _that _when she peeked into that window. And she definitely hadn't been considering going inside Luffy's hut this evening. But now...

She looked around, not wanting to be seen as she made her decision. It was his fault for leaving the curtains open and making her horny all of a sudden. Besides, they haven't done it in a while, and she was now feeling the libido that had built up inside her since then all too strongly to just walk away...

Taking one last careful glance at her surroundings and concluding no one'd seen her, Nami walked towards the velour curtains that served as the hut's door. She quickly slipped inside, took off her shoes and closed the window curtains – Luffy was still lying idly, although he couldn't have been asleep for too long. The meal had finished less than an hour ago.

This 'bedroom' would be no different from hers, if it weren't for the color of the sheets. Instead of royal blue, these ones were an amethyst hue.

"Luffy", she called out, making her voice sound harsh. She hoped that'd be enough to wake him up.

She was right. Slowly, he started to shuffle, as he inhaled deeply and extended his arms above his head. His sleeping face was replaced with the frown he'd usually show off when smacked on the head, but with messier hair and... well... naked. He sat up, unabashedly showcasing the source of Nami's discomfort located inbetween his legs. She became all too aware of that fact and the effect it had on her as she felt her blush intensifying.

Luffy rubbed his eyes and muttered sleepily, "Nami? What're you doing here?".

A little disappointed, but realistically expecting that kind of reaction, she made her best effort to look irritated. "That's not your hut", she lied, knowing it wasn't a foolproof plan, but hey, what's the worst that could happen. "It's mine", she added, stressing the last word.

Still a little out of touch with reality, he just looked up in his hunched sitting position, "Eeeh...?". Seeing Nami's forced angry expression, he continued, "What's it matter... They're all the same...".

It was a good point – except for the color of the fabric inside the huts were all exactly identical – and the navigator didn't have any believable retort to that statement. Regardless, deciding she would feel incredibly embarrassed telling him that she came inside because she saw him naked through the window and it turned her on, she played along. "Yours is too close to the sea. I don't like it", knowing how dumb that sounded for someone who spends most of their days out in the sea and aware of that realization slowly forming in Luffy's brain, she quickly changed the topic, "Either way, you should get _that_ covered up".

She pointed her finger at his junk, looking away with fake modesty.

"Why? It's not like you haven't seen it", he replied with honest confusion, as if he were reading her mind from a few minutes earlier.

Ugh! Why was that idiot always so spot-on when it came to pointing out the nonsensity of social norms and other things regular people abided by as unwritten rules? Nami sat there for a moment, defeated and flustered – how was she supposed to get the message 'I want to have sex' across to Luffy? Getting him to an aroused state usually happened spontaneously before and she didn't exactly have a plan this time, either. It didn't help that he'd just woken up and seemed even slower on picking up clues than usual.

"Ah", she sighed, a smirk foreshadowing a new brilliant idea creeping onto her face, "Yeah, and I've touched it as well, isn't that right?". She dropped to her fours, crawling towards him in a sultry manner, while her low-cut tank top provided him with a generous view of her brassiere-lacking cleaveage.

"Yep, you sure have...", Luffy responded almost instantly, gradually losing confidence the closer he was to finishing his sentence. He appeared to be catching on.

As Nami slowly closed the distance between them, his conciousness unhurriedly connected her behavior with what she'd seemingly set as her goal...

The woman in front of him observed his face flushing, still a look of bewilderment gracing it, but she couldn't stare for too long – before she knew it, she had her lips on his, as the gentle touch deliberately transformed into a kiss. Meanwhile, she ran her hands along the entire length of his arms, starting with the palms that have been resting at his sides. She stopped at his shoulders, placed one hand on his back and buried the other in his hair, scratching and massaging his scalp as the kiss deepened. Soon, she was gliding her tongue against his as his lips parted in slow adjustment to the situation and the idea Nami was trying to project onto him. At first he was unresponsive, but after a while he, too, wrapped his arms around her and started playing with the kiss.

She was the first one to break it, feeling the excitement becoming too much for just kissing. He seemed to be fully awake by now, looking up at her with widened eyes and a blush across his face and neck. Sensing the developing hardness poking her mons pubis, she was ensured he was not only awake, but also aware of what was coming his way. And pretty excited about it happening. Well, if she was too thrilled with the concept to just go back to her own privacy and take care of that without bothering anyone, the boy with a barely existant sense of restrainment must've liked the idea at least as much when he thought about it.

She reached for her captain's hand and guided it to one of her breasts. He picked up immediately, following what she'd just done with his other hand. It seemed there was nothing left of the groggy sleepyhead from just a moment ago. At first gently squeezing, he hesitated for a second and pulled the tank top over her breasts, not wanting to deal with the annoying textile. Nami was glad for this move, enjoying the raw caresses, feeling the texture of his fingers as he brushed against her nipples ever-so-slightly. She let a whimper leave her mouth when he wrapped his lips around one of them – now stiff, he swirled his tongue around it, teased with the tip of it, even sucked a little every now and then. He kept fondling the other breast with his hand, sometimes pinching at the sensitive bud. His navigator was letting short moans and gasps escape her mouth as she gave in to the pleasure, quite surprised with the expertise and eagerness Luffy was showing.

Each time they'd been physically intimate before, she was always the one leading the way, obviously more experienced. In their first few encounters she was, in fact, doing most of the work, the boy too unfamiliar with such closeness to take any major action. As time went by, he became more and more participating, following her orders and imitating some of her doings. Understandably, she never drew any unbelievable satisfaction from sleeping with him. That wasn't to say she regretted it or felt awkward about it – she just realized it was one of those few aspects of life where she had to be patient and embrace his innocuousness. But most importantly, she loved him with every fiber of her being. Even more importantly, she had absolutely no doubt she would love him until the end of time. There was no one who could make her happier, who'd done more for her than Luffy had - she knew it for a fact. With such a strong emotional bond, the trust, devotion and admiration they had for each other, the quality of their sexual life had no chance, ever, of being a factor that could decide the fate of their relationship.

Still, he was far from knowledgeable about a woman's, much less _her_ body and what _she_ liked – and, for that matter, his own preferences as well – to really fullfill her desires, but he was certainly getting better at it.

The surprisingly skillful and sensual stimulation that he was performing at that moment served as testimony to that. Unknowingly, she found the hardness beneath her with her hips and started grinding on it, feeling the moisture and warmness seep through her panties. She raised her head while arching it back slightly, engulfed in the new sensations. With her hands in his hair and around his neck, she pulled at the raven strands every so often when his tongue would meet an especially receptive spot.

He certainly wasn't doing badly right now... Perhaps, maybe... If she let Luffy continue in this dominant stance beyond foreplay, he wouldn't be as sloppy and clumsy as she feared...

She was woken up from her hazy stupor by the sharp feeling of coldness on her nipple, covered in saliva, but no longer in Luffy's mouth. Instead, he was looking up at her with a happy grin plastered on his face.

"You were looking really cute there."

Caught off guard, she took a few seconds for his words to really sink in. She felt blood rushing to her cheeks and she grimaced half-amused, half-irked. He had a knack for saying slightly inappropriate, yet genuine things at the most unexpected moments. With a smile, she gave him a light flick on the nose. "Ow", he whined, giggling in his own weird way.

Noticing the mood was starting to suffer from his sweetness, Nami pulled the already-not-covering-anything tank top over her head and tossed it aside. While doing so, she pressed a little harder against his cock, satisfied when she saw the spark returning to his eye and his body tensing. She kept rubbing it, rocking her hips and pressing her hands to his chest. He pulled her closer, one hand buried in her orange locks, as he locked their lips in a kiss. This one Nami liked a lot more – it was wet, passionate, filled with heavy breaths and tongueplay. She felt him bite down on her lip and slide his hands along her shapely figure, reversing the motion when he reached her thighs to sneak them underneath her skirt. His palms had a firm texture, and when he groped her ass with them it shot an unfamiliar shiver up her spine. She pulled away from the kiss, needing breath, but Luffy had no itention of stopping. He promptly attacked her neck, planting kisses, licking and nibbling on her flesh. Nami knew he was merely following his instincts, as he wasn't always hitting the erogenous zones, but his alacrity, yearning and what seemed to be long repressed hunger for having her like this excited her beyond what she'd ever experienced before...

She felt one of his fingers slipping underneath her underwear and pulling on the strap, a husky voice in her ear, "They're in the way...". Hot breath against her flesh and a tingle between her legs. Aware of her panties being completely soaked and her desire becoming too much to handle, she cupped his face with both hands and looked at him, eyes half-lidded and a pleading, longing look on her face. Breathing heavily, she was still creating friction against his glans. For a second, she was worried he was considering just ripping them off... She could've sworn she saw something change in his eyes, but she was pushed down onto the mattress too quickly to really give it much thought. Her captain wasted no time as he pulled down her skirt – she aided him by bending her knees and lifting her legs up. With her red, lacy, polka-dotted knickers now in full view, she saw him smile, but he disposed of them just as eagerly. He crawled atop her, supporting himself with both arms. Nami examined her captain, bottom to top, feet to head. Strong, muscular calves and thighs. A fully grown erection standing up proudly, the dampness she left on it shining in what little light was still in the room. A flat stomach with toned abs, and the chest above it heaving as he breathed, the huge X-shaped scar engraved in it. His sturdy shoulders (despite which he still somehow managed to look lanky in his clothes – perhaps that was just a delusion, considering he usually stood next to his older, buffer crewmates) and prominent collarbone. And finally, his youthful, boyish face, framed by messy, spiky strands of raven hair. Although now, his expression was far from his usual juvenile innocence – he was blushing fiercely, eyes wide open and lips parted as he looked straight into Nami's own gaze. She saw lust, thirst and an animalistic urge, but with a degree of self-control... Seeing his suppressed energy and titillation expressed by nearly every part of his body, she felt a surprisingly strong twitch between her legs, startled when she understood – she was thrilled by the prospect of being overpowered by this man. The somewhat ego-stroking thought of the fact that said man was one of the most dangerous and highest reward criminals out on the sea by the Navy's standards grazed over her mind – and there he was, hovering above her, ready to make love to her, and only her.

It was all very enticing. _He_ was very enticing that evening.

She realized he was looking for some kind of invitation or approval before he went ahead and did what his instincts told him to do. Smirking naughtily, Nami parted her legs. She bit down on her lip and eyed them as encouragement.

No further persuasion was necessary. Luffy promptly reached out and spread her labia with his thumb, getting closer. The navigator took hold of one of the nearby pillows (remembering his feverish demeanor, it seemed wise to opt for the best angle he could get inside) and placed it underneath herself, just above her backside. She expected him to question what she'd just done, but he seemed uninterested with anything happening outside of her private area. There wasn't much time to fend on that thought, however, as she felt his raw cock prodding at her now undraped entrance, flesh against flesh... A wave of pleasure washed over her, lasting only briefly – soon enough, these sensations were replaced by a much stronger feeling of urge coming from her inside. She let out a small moan while her hips moved on their own, grinding against the tip of his dick. Relocating his thumb to her clitoris, he started rubbing it slowly. Whimpers escaped Nami's mouth, forcing her to try holding her voice back – she would inhale rapidly only to breathe out with expectation of feeling him deeper inside. But her captain kept teasing, never really penetrating and it was slowly driving her crazy... Conscious how slippery she was getting, there was no way he was just having problems fitting in. He was intentionally holding back.

She wanted him to just jam it in and fuck her. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she was taken aback a little; never before would she even think of a word as dirty and rough as 'fucking' in context to being intimate with Luffy... But the friction he was creating, restraining himself millimetres from just slipping inside, making her burning with need- God!

"Luffy~...!", she shot her head up, shaky, supporting herself on her trembling elbows and looking at him with what she guessed could've very well been the most lecherous expression she'd ever made in her life. She was panting heavily and biting on her lip – her desire becoming almost painful - please, just-

"Luffy _what_?", he said seriously. Even though she felt his cock twitch and throb, he seemed to have no intention of going in.

How perverted! Was that really Luffy?! Did he really want her to say it out loud? Questions raised in her head, but she had trouble collecting or even comprehending them. She was so hot and dizzy... Her captain was still waiting for her answer, looking at her with strained fervor, and she would pull him towards herself on her own if she'd only felt a bit stronger-

Another stinging twitch of her inner muscles, another whimper, he really wasn't going to give up-

Her teeth clenched.

Her eyes shut tightly.

"Fuck... me...!", a loud cry filled the room. The entire area had probably heard her, but she didn't care – all that mattered was his immediate reaction. A deep, but smooth thrust inside to pave his way, Nami's fists clutching the sheets firmly, every muscle of her body tense with excitement, Luffy's smaller groan ringing in her ears over her own voice. Taking in the sensation of feeling him inside, eyelids closed still, it felt like the wonderful forever ahead of them before he started moving.

He began rocking his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, adjusting to the position and feelings that came over him so suddenly – both physical and mental. It was the first time he got to see Nami acting so responsive and... obedient. He was fascinated, as well as somewhat amazed by what he was exposed to in front of his eyes. For some reason he thought it was a moment to remember – to hide deep within his mind and cherish. Even though she had her eyes closed throughout most of their encounter so far, he could still decipher the emotions that her features portrayed when she bit on her lip, when her eyebrows furrowed and relaxed, when her mouth parted slowly, her lips a reddish hue and when she bared her teeth, sucking the air in and exhaling almost instantly with little moans as he hit the right spot. Had he not been in situations like those with Nami before, he might've not been able to identify any of her reactions, much less connect them to a suitable emotion. But he knew exactly what they meant.

And, to be fair, he could relate. Though not fully aware of why, seeing the fiery redhead so submissive, yet comfortable in a position that took the control she loved to have away from her felt absolutely different and breathtaking. It was like those moments he hated to witness – when she was crying. When she no longer had the power to hold up her defenses and subdued to whatever feelings became too much to contain behind a facade of complete self-sufficiency and apathy.

But she was not sad, tears weren't rolling down her face and her sight didn't fill him with rage at whatever or whoever it was that put her in such a state.

In fact, it was quite the contrary. Looking down at her, long orange hair sprawled on the mattress beneath her, lone strands lingering on her cheek and chin, her hands curled into fists clutching the blankets, ample breasts wavering as the force of his movements dispersed through her body and especially when he would be rewarded with louder sighs and muscles squeezing his cock tighter, he actually felt pretty proud of himself.

As Luffy continued his ministrations, Nami briefly opened her eyes and met his captivated gaze. Yet again, she felt warmness crawling onto her face and a sudden, unbearable desire to get even closer to her captain, her savior, friend and lover... She reached out to him with inviting arms, and there was no hesitation as he collapsed into them softly.

Vulnerable... that was the word he was looking for.

Wrapping her arms around him, she realized just how warm his body felt against her skin. His face was in her flowing locks just above her shoulder, his jet black hair tickling her neck and she inhaled, all the admiration _for_ him, and happiness _because of_ him clearer than usual in her mind. He smelled like the sea and sex, she decided, smiling – it could probably become her new favourite mix.

All of that happened in a matter of no more than two seconds, since soon the feeling of his cock buried deep inside of her began feeling slightly alien – her body was expecting him to pull out, and carry on with another thrust, but he remained inert. His arms slid between Nami's back and the mattress, one embracing her shoulders, the other around her waist. Four, five, six seconds... Her inner walls clasped onto Luffy's dick almost painfully, causing her to moan audibly and her back to arc.

In a way, she just wanted him to bring her to the happy ending as soon as possible. The tension that had built up to this point was pressuring her notoriously, and Nami's objective was just getting rid of it to begin with (that was, until Luffy started acting like some sort of beastly sex god and turned her on beyond belief). On the other hand, the sensation was strangely enjoyable, even if it was just merciless teasing all over again. Despite that she was gritting her teeth and leaving red trails on Luffy's back with her fingers, she couldn't deny that she would gladly be subject to this sort of sweet torture again, if given the opportunity.

A small tinge of relief fell upon her when he finally did pull back slowly, down to nearly his entire length. His movements were now slower, but more precise – he would carefully sink as much of his cock as he could fit inside of her with every thrust. The lethargic pace was almost dizzying for Nami – being able to take in every sensation that came with his texture, the depth at which he went, and that moment of lingering when he reached the farthest point nearly had her begging for more. Amazed and surprised by his creativity so far, she wanted – needed to see what else he had in store.

Deliberately, he started picking up on the speed. Nami felt like the void in her lower stomach was slowly starting to fill up. She knew she still had quite a bit of time before her release, but the finish line was on the horizon now. Oddly, with each continuous thrust of Luffy's, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something aside from the pace was changing... It was like she was clutching him tighter every time he went in, but she felt exactly the opposite – as if she was being spread wider and wider, reached in deeper and deeper...

Each time he buried his cock inside of her, the noises she made gradually became less and less controlled, becoming a mix of every type – short, cut-off whimpers, dragged-out moans, low, primal grunts, sensual sighs, full-mouthed cries... Her eyes widened, realization dawning upon her.

No way...

Was he really... using his powers?!

Lying there in shock, consumed by the pleasure he was giving to her, she never took notice of him lifting his upper body up for more freedom with his movements, although he was still hovering inches above her, supported by arms placed on each of her sides. The fact that he was now going fast and hard enough for her to hear sounds of his balls slapping against her ass, however, did not escape her attention. And neither did the wonders that were now happening to her brain and between her legs.

Where was Luffy getting those perverted ideas from? And more importantly, why did she not care?

She was about to come any second now – every sensation of friction inside of her that he was creating in this short moment she could suddenly feel a hundred times stronger. She wrapped her legs around his waist in an attempt to bring him closer, panting heavily. Cry after cry, thrust after thrust, squeeze after squeeze, she knew she was inches away from stepping over the edge...

With one final thrust, she felt his seed spill inside of her – that sensation alone was able to bring her to her own climax, causing her to scream out in ecstasy. When he lowered himself to allow her hands to embrace him, the sheets she was clutching at were immediately let go of as she pressed her body against his in a frenzied spasm. She clasped onto his cock tighter and longer than anytime before, culminating twitches of the muscled walls lengthening Luffy's peak. They lay there for a moment, relishing in their heavenly rapture.

Luffy moved back and forth slowly a couple times before he exited her completely. Nami, still not recovered from her post-orgasmic bliss, slowly realized her toes were curled in a very uncomfortable way and that if her fingers had longer nails, she would have probably already dug a few holes in her captain's skin. Relaxing her legs and arms, she let them drop when Luffy pulled away from her and fell down onto the mattress right next to her. He turned to his side to put his arm over her waist, letting his head rest on the other. With a wide smile and closed eyes, he waited for his navigator to speak up, or move, or do _something_.

It took a few minutes before her low, hazy voice filled the room.

"What the hell... was that?"

One of Luffy's eyes opened lazily, observing the girl next to him. She was still lying on her back, watching the ceiling through a misty, half-lidded gaze. Her breathing seemed to have normalized by now, but her lips were still parted and swollen.

He closed his eye.

"Hmm. What do you mean?", a question that could not be delivered without the smug smile of someone who is about ninety-nine percent sure of the answer, but finds too much enjoyment in teasing their conversation partner. Although in the case of Luffy, that was not entirely true. As a person who was not too good with words, especially when a question just begged to be answered sarcastically, he settled for asking about details... Partly because he really was curious about what caused Nami so much confusion, but also because it seemed like the only reasonable retort.

The girl still had too much dopamine being distributed in her brain to even consider getting mad at him, so her initial response was a lenient sigh.

But hell, after giving her the best sex of her life, he deserved to be praised.

"I mean you driving me crazy and mating like you've been doing this every day for years."

He snuggled up to her, smirking with satisfaction. "I don't know", he answered honestly, clearly not concerned with what it was that just made him good in bed. Who would question that? You don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Fair enough, Nami thought. She mentally scolded herself for not recognizing that she had been sleeping with a natural talent for the past few months.

"But, you know", Luffy started, eyes closed still, "I definitely learned something new today".

She rolled her eyes and smiled, amused. And the award for 'Understatement of the Year' goes to...

"Yeah? What is it?"

He chuckled quietly. "I think Nami really likes it when I go deep."

Upon hearing those words, she felt embarrassment crawl onto her face. She was about to yell at him, when she realized he's had enough ego-stroking for one day. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he managed to make her blush with mere words, especially considering how far he was from a smooth-talker.

"...You better forget about it when we're at the dinner table, but I hope you remember it when we're in bed next time", obviously, Luffy didn't need to be told to keep his mouth shut again, but it was the only thing that came to her mind at the time.

He made a 'mm' sound and Nami sat up, reaching for the blanket. Seeing how the hut was now filled nearly entirely with darkness, she thought it was probably about time they went to sleep. Besides, she was exhausted.

Well, but that sure was a more fun way to spend one's energy before sleeping than going for a walk.

She smiled and laid on her side with her back facing him, pulling the sheets over them. Luffy adjusted them and moved Nami's soft, luscious hair above her crown, so that it wouldn't tickle his face. With his nose nuzzling the place where her head connected to her neck, he left a feathery kiss on it, wrapping his arms around his navigator.

Nami closed her eyes and gave in to the comfort of the mattress and her captain's embrace, feeling herself slowly drift off. Drowsy and murky, she nearly missed Luffy's low purr and a barely discernible 'I love you' vibrating on her skin. The confession was so sudden and unexpected it brought clarity back into her mind in a second. She could feel her facial muscles tense and tears forming in the corners of her eyes. This was one of the least appropriate moments to cry, and she was well aware of it, but...

She turned her head around and Luffy's eyes flung open when he sensed her motions. She looked crestfallen, the moisture in her eyes shining like the tiny diamonds she loved so much and her lips in a sorrowful pout. He was confused beyond words, and when she pulled his head closer and pressed her mouth to his, it proved to be of no help in understanding her reaction. As she cupped his face with her small palms, memories filled his mind. When tears came streaming down her face as he acknowledged her as his friend after defeating Arlong. Her joyful sobbing when he showed up to rescue her from Enel. How heart-wrenching her faint gaze and small smile was when she saw him furious and ready to fight Shiki.

Yeah... that must have been it.

More confident, he returned the kiss, gripping her hands. When their lips parted, she was smiling through her tears. He entwined their fingers together with a reassuring grin.

She loved him. He didn't need to hear it.

As happy as she could be, she closed her eyes, finding it difficult to believe in her luck. Thoughts like these came over her often at the beginning of their adventure, but gradually became less and less frequent as they faded into, more or less, routine. Who knew what would happen had Luffy not crashed into her that fateful day? In the best scenario, she would still be desperately trying to pay for her village and working her ass off on it. And that was a horrifyingly menacing vision of a way to spend one's lifetime.

Every day she lived, every single one of her experiences, the freedom to live her life the way she wanted to – and all of her happiness, it was all thanks to him. It was impossible to live without wishing that she could repay him someday, somehow. Even though she knew he expected nothing from her.

Hopefully – no, definitely – she will navigate him to his dream, and she will watch him achieve it.

She opened her eyes. Luffy's face was serene and peaceful, his breathing steady and arms embracing her. He was fast asleep, and Nami decided it best that she do the same.

Smiling and enjoying the warm relief radiating from his body, she pitied whoever it was that would come to wake them up the next day.


End file.
